They first whipped through the Class 4A Southwestern League regular season race with an unbeaten record with no games going more than two games per match. They whipped through the District VII Tournament with three wins. And now they’ve whipped through the Region D Tournament by winning three straight matches. And now they would like to add a state tournament title to that resume.

"This was a very tough region and we were just glad to win our three matches," Montezuma-Cortez coach Lindy Mortensen said following the tournament. "We saw some very good volleyball played here today. The girls played well. We had a few dead spots and we didn’t play particularly well in our second game against Cheyenne Mountain, but overall I thought we had a good day. It was a very competitive tournament."

Southwestern League and District VII and Region D champion Montezuma-Cortez enters the tournament with a 23-1 record and the top seed in Pool I at the Class 4A State Volleyball Championships which get under way Friday at the Denver Coliseum. Action begins at 8 a.m. and MCHS plays in the first match against Pine Creek. They take on Lewis-Palmer at about 1 p.m. and Mullen at 6 p.m. (times approximate).

Steamboat Springs is the third seed in Pool II. The Sailors face Berthoud, the second seed in the pool, in their opener Friday before taking on top seed Fort Morgan (23-3). Steamboat concludes pool play Saturday morning against fourth seed Summit.

The top two teams from the two pools in each classification will advance to Saturday's semifinals. The championship matches in all classifications will be played Saturday afternoon, starting with the 1A title match at 1 p.m.

The Panthers’ first match of the Region D Tournament in Ron Wright Memorial Gym at MCHS was against Cheyenne Mountain of Colorado Springs. Cortez won 15-1, 15-8.

In the first game, Cortez quickly scored the first point but then the teams traded six sideouts before another point was scored. Behind the serving of Denise Newlin, Cortez went up 4-0. Stefanie Allison put Cortez up 6-0 with a pair of spikes and Casey Bauer serving. She continued to serve and soon MCHS was up 11-0. During that time Cheyenne Mountain made several miscues. Bauer served for three more points for a 13-0 advantage. The Indians called time. After Cortez scored one more point, the Indians finally got on the scoreboard when MCHS hit a ball out-of-bounds. A block for a point by Allison and Colette Hall ended the game.

In the second game, Cortez zipped out to a 4-0 lead but Cheyenne Mountain battled back to 4-3. Cortez soon went up 8-3. Andrea Derrick made a nice block during that stretch. Cheyenne Mountain’s Alana Willis and Jessica Harrington made a pair of blocks for points. A block by Emily Engle and an ace by Willis pulled the Indians to 9-7 when Cortez called time. The teams then sent the ball back and forth over the net many times with sideouts being called. This went on for nearly 30 minutes with 11 sideouts. A bad set by the Indians made it 10-3. A tip by Lanier and an ace by Liz Dennison put Cortez firmly in control at 13-7. The Indians scored and then Bauer made a kill and Newlin a block for the final points for the game and match win.

Cortez took on Summit in the second match of the tournament. The Panthers won 15-9, 15-6.

After both teams got their nerves settled down as the teams traded several sideouts during the early moments of the first game. Bauer spiked the ball home twice in a row to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead. Leading 4-2, the two teams traded sideouts six times before the Tigers tied the score at 4-4. MCHS took the lead for good after Bauer and Hall blocked a shot. The Panthers extended their lead to 8-4 when Summit called a timeout. A tip by Emilie Lanier and a kill by Bauer put Cortez up 10-4. However, the Tigers pecked away and pulled within three points at 10-7. Bauer proved to be too much at the net as she made several kills. Stefanie Allison drove home the final point.

In the second match, the game was tied at 3-3 before Cortez reeled off three straight points after taking advantage of Tiger miscues. A kill by Hall and a kill by Allison put Cortez up 9-4. Summit called time. Behind the serving of Allison, Cortez scored three consecutive points for a 12-4 lead. Summit scored two more but Cortez scored three for the game and match victory.

The Panthers took on Pueblo West in their final match of the day. Cortez won 15-8, 15-5. The match win gave the Panthers the Regional title outright.

In the first game, the Cyclones jumped out to a 5-3 lead at which point Cortez called time out. The time must have worked because the Panthers reeled off five straight points behind the serving of Hall and the offensive power of Bauer. Pueblo West closed the gap to 10-7. Bauer made an ace and Allison a kill to take a 13-8 lead. It took several minutes worth of sideouts before Cortez got control and scored. Bauer made a kill down the line for the final point.

Cortez took a 7-0 lead and took the wind out of Cyclones. A couple MCHS miscues put Pueblo West on the board at 7-2. The Panthers went up 11-2 behind the serving of Allison. Cortez was soon on top 13-3. Cortez scored once more but Pueblo West added a couple points. A kill by Bauer following a good rally ended the game and match.

Pueblo West and Summit opened the tournament. Pueblo West won the first game 15-9 but Summit shocked them with a 15-13 win in the second. The Tigers went on to win 15-6 in the final game. The first game saw the lead seesaw until Pueblo West pulled ahead 9-6. The Indians continued to score points for the win. After the score was tied 3-3 in the second game, Summit gained control and was soon ahead 11-4. Pueblo West rallied to pull within three at 12-9. But Summit regained its composure and went on to take the win. The Tigers dominated the final game of the match.

The Pueblo West-Cheyenne Mountain match was interesting with Cheyenne Mountain winning 15-13, 15-2. Pueblo West looked like it was going to crush Cheyenne Mountain jumping out to a 10-4 lead. But the Indians slowly battled back and tied the score at 12-all. The game was tied 13-13 before the Indians scored the final two points. Cheyenne dominated play in the second game, taking an 11-2 lead and coasting from there.

Summit and Cheyenne Mountain played with Summit winning 15-6, 15-11. That win put the Tigers into the State Tournament. Summit led 7-4 and 12-6 before scoring the final three points in the first game. The score was tied 2-2 and 5-5 but Summit then took control and went ahead 11-5. But The Indians battled back and pulled within a point at 11-10. But Summit scored four of the next five points.

Meanwhile, Mancos High School ended its Cinderella run at the Class 2A Region C Tournament at neutral site Palisade High School on Saturday.

Telluride gets the fourth seed in Pool I of the 2A tournament. The Miners take on top seed Caliche in their opener Friday, then face second seed Wiley later in the day. Their final pool play match is Saturday morning against third seed Strasburg.

West Grand, which won the Region C tournament at Palisade Saturday, is the No. 2 seed in Pool II. The Mustangs play No. 3 seed Swink and No. 4 seed Holyoke earlier Friday, then face the pool's top seed, Byers (24-2), in Friday's final 2A match.

The Blue Jays took on senior-laden powerhouse West Grand and lost 3-15, 3-15 in their first match of the day.

"We shellshocked," MHS head coach Mona Shepherd reported. "The girls were very intimidated. They have a big 6-foot-2 girl who killed the ball on our first serve. We did not relax and play like I had hoped we would."

The Jays took on a team they had faced three times before in San Juan Basin League champ Telluride. They lost the first match 1-15 but came back and played well in the second losing 15-11.

"Telluride has a good team. After the first game was over, we finally woke up and played pretty well the rest of the tournament," she said.

Indeed, the Jays beat Grand Valley 15-12, 15-11.

"We showed we belonged in this tournament," she added. "The girls played a good second half of the day and played like I knew they could."

How does Shepherd look back on the season?